10 College Football Teams with Most Upside on Their Roster

#1
dduncan4163

dduncan4163

Have at it Hoss
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#1
10 College Football Teams with Most Upside on Their Roster | Bleacher Report

Underclassmen in projected 2016 two-deep: 15
247Sports Composite 3-year average: 9.33
Contributing freshmen in 2015: 14
Tennessee's hype train for 2016 is built on loads of returning starters, with a good portion of them now upperclassmen. But some of the latest stars of Butch Jones' recruiting revival in Knoxville will play a part in what the Volunteers hope will be a return to title contention.
Offensively, sophomore wide receiver Preston Williams was a breakout star this spring, and he has all the tools to be one of the SEC's best targets later this fall. Star quarterback Josh Dobbs' blind spot will most likely be protected this season by freshman Drew Richmond, a former 4-star recruit who is coming off an important redshirt season with the program. Both Quinten Dormandy and Jarrett Guarantano are exciting quarterbacks for the future.
Last fall, Tennessee got a lot out of then-freshman linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr., who new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop called "the undisputed leader of the defense" during the spring, per WVLT-TV. Massive defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie should play a huge role in the trenches this fall, and Tennessee's defensive two-deep is littered with key reserves from the sophomore class.
While the Volunteers will rely heavily on the experience of their juniors and seniors this fall, the next wave of growing talent has roles to play right now. Tennessee keeps moving forward as a program, and it will continue to have impressive potential for the future.
 
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#2
#2
This is just another reason to love Butch and his staff. Our cupboard is stocked full of quality and we are once again being mentioned among the powers of CFB.

How our fortunes have changed Nation
 
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#3
#3
I would've had us above auburn, didn't read the rest of it. But auburn hired Kevin Steele as their dc, they lost a lot of upside when that happened.
 
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#5
#5
It's good to see us included at number 10. But unfortunately, our three biggest rivals we must play every year are ranked above us in this ranking and two in the top five (UGA #4, and Bama at #2). Despite all the success, we are still looking up at the big three on our schedule going forward.
 
#6
#6
It's been a long way back but dang how sweet it is. This is going to be a season to remember, and I really think Butch has us on good footing for many years to come. I do think the 2017 recruiting class will pick up steam sooner rather than later! Especially after we enter the bama game undefeated!
 
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#7
#7
Neyland Law Vol said:
It's good to see us included at number 10. But unfortunately, our three biggest rivals we must play every year are ranked above us in this ranking and two in the top five (UGA #4, and Bama at #2). Despite all the success, we are still looking up at the big three on our schedule going forward.
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Keep in mind they use the word "upside" which is just another word for potential. It's not a ranking of probable outcomes, just a rehash of the last few years of recruiting successes for the featured schools.
 
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#8
#8
dduncan4163 said:
This is just another reason to love Butch and his staff. Our cupboard is stocked full of quality and we are once again being mentioned among the powers of CFB.

How our fortunes have changed Nation
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Yes sir. It's amazing!
 
#9
#9
dduncan4163 said:
This is just another reason to love Butch and his staff. Our cupboard is stocked full of quality and we are once again being mentioned among the powers of CFB.

How our fortunes have changed Nation
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brick by brick...castle complete...:)

GO VOLS!
 
#10
#10
fade route said:
Keep in mind they use the word "upside" which is just another word for potential. It's not a ranking of probable outcomes, just a rehash of the last few years of recruiting successes for the featured schools.
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The teams with the most talent win the most.
 
#11
#11
EZE said:
The teams with the most talent win the most.
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There is a fallacy to this. You can't strictly use recruiting rankings when judging talent which this thrown together list wants to do. If you did then Georgia's Lorenzo Carter is a much more talented player than Tennessee's Derek Barnett (it's hard to keep a straight face even writing that)... and the number of contributing freshmen can sometimes indicate a weak upper class rather than a strong under class. The actual results on the field should be kept at the forefront of this argument and nobody looked good for Georgia (I'm picking on them today) when they were getting trampled by Alabama and Florida and blowing a 24-3 lead to Tennessee last year.
 
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#13
#13
BowlBrother85 said:
There is a fallacy to this. You can't strictly use recruiting rankings when judging talent which this thrown together list wants to do.
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Well, yes you can. First, because that is all the author claims to do and he provides his method. And he is only looking to find the top ten teams with "upside" in skill, particularly with highly touted underclassmen who already have some experience, again, using the logic he provided.

Second, we've been shown over and over on here with charts and graphs that a teams (i forget) 3 or 4 year rolling recruiting average predicts the winner of a game about 70% of the time. The higher skilled team usually wins.
Period. It's common sense. We knew that in high school PE when coach had "captains" choose up sides for flag football.

But, you are right,

"You can't 'strictly' use recruiting rankings when judging teams".

It is true you have busts in 5☆ recruits. But that's not the thrust of the article is it?

But hey ... you are right ... but only 30% of the time at the end of the games. I don't like those odds.
 
#15
#15
Thus season is going to be the first time in a long time, where were not over matched in talent and depth. Im just curious and excited to see how Butch and his staff can coach them up this season. Our Vols really have a good shot to get the momentum rollin big time in Ktown this year! Go Vols!
 
#16
#16
Orangedogsrule said:
Well, yes you can. First, because that is all the author claims to do and he provides his method. And he is only looking to find the top ten teams with "upside" in skill, particularly with highly touted underclassmen who already have some experience, again, using the logic he provided.

Second, we've been shown over and over on here with charts and graphs that a teams (i forget) 3 or 4 year rolling recruiting average predicts the winner of a game about 70% of the time. The higher skilled team usually wins.
Period. It's common sense. We knew that in high school PE when coach had "captains" choose up sides for flag football.

But, you are right,

"You can't 'strictly' use recruiting rankings when judging teams".

It is true you have busts in 5☆ recruits. But that's not the thrust of the article is it?

But hey ... you are right ... but only 30% of the time at the end of the games. I don't like those odds.
Click to expand...

I really was just going off on UGA in particular (I hate them) because at least as it pertains to many of the players they sign, their recruiting rankings are inflated. Lorenzo Carter is a perfect example of this. He is not a bust. He is a good player, just nowhere near as good as his recruiting ranking projected him to be. He is typical of what Georgia signs because a lot of players out of that state are given a boost because of where they're from and the competition they play against. I stand by my point that the best barometer is the on the field performance. Georgia plays against teams they have supposedly out-recruited much more than 70% of the time... and have jack squat since 2006 to show for it.
 
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